Soup & A Side of Romance
by meegeesgeek
Summary: Hmmm what is in that soup!  Reviews are loved!


Soup & A Side of Romance

Characters: Tim, Ziva & the others

Genre: Hurt / Comfort

Words: 2,567

For Sherry…hope you feel better!

….

Achoo

Achoo

Achoo

The three successive sneezes filled the otherwise silent work area of the MCRT.

The sneezes brought Gibbs out of his paperwork reverie, and also made Tim finally look up from the stack of paperwork on his desk as well, and well the sneezes made Tony do something else.

"Zee are you sick?" Tony said sounding a bit irritated.

"No, no I am not maybe it is just allergies, I wouldn't know since the weather and air is so different here than in Israel."

"Yea well this is like day three of the Ziva sneezing parade, and in the past hour all I have heard is a chorus of sneezing and God Bless You's! Normally I wouldn't care but the sneezes are interrupting my rhythm on Tetris, and ohhh I have a big date tonight" Tony whined.

"Oh do not worry I am not contagious so I won't ruin your date with your broody slim twenty something tonight. And as for Tetris I will not apologize for ruining that because there is only so many levels one can complete without it losing it's meaning!" Ziva replied.

"Oh come on just because you cannot appreciate the value of Tetris or master it the way I have does not mean you need to rip it" the senior felid agent huffed out.

"What is there to master? It is just a game where you move a bunch of blocks into place there is nothing skillful about it. If you ask me you are spending too much time playing mindless games and sooner or later you will turn into McGee going on and on about some stupid game"

Both Tony and Tim managed to succinctly time their "Hey that's not fair's and don't lump me in with him".

"While I may be enjoying this little argument David and DiNozzo can we all get back to paperwork…that is if you want to make it outta work in time to get to that smoking hot date Tony" Gibbs interjected.

And with that the bullpen became silent again, each member getting themselves lost in the dreamless land of paperwork that always accompanied lulls between cases.

There was little talking the rest of the day, what with each person wanting to get home and begin their weekend as soon as possible.

The only noises that could be heard were the intermittent sneezes that were emitted from Ziva's cubicle.

As always Tim worked quickly, efficiently, and the meticulous nature guaranteed him not having to fix any mistakes, and thus he was the first one to leave, only stopping briefly to say a communal goodbye to everyone.

He was really fast because by the time the goodbye's were sent back in his direction he was already in the elevator and on his way home.

Home with a plan on his mind too!

Ziva also known for her quick nature in getting paperwork done when not getting distracted by Tony's jokes was the second one to finish and leave for the night.

As the elevators closed she was thankful to be on her way home, and grateful that the team was not on call this weekend. Because if she was too be honest with herself she felt as though she had been run over by a truck….another American idiom that she never understood.

If one was about to be run over by a tuck why would they not move out of the way?

Better yet if you have just been run over by a truck how can you feel anything because wouldn't you be dead?

Ahh whatever the idiom meant she felt as though it applied to her.

Her head hurt, her throat ached in a way that she had never felt since returning from Somalia, and the parched feeling that the throat had now was a different burn then the one she experienced in Somalia. Then her runny nose was just not helping either, on top of that she felt cold everywhere!

Yes she decided that a weekend off of doing nothing would hopefully alleviate the symptoms, and if it didn't then a sick day on Monday would be in order because listening to Tony grumbling about her sneezing patterns was just not something she was up for.

…

A short twenty minutes later Ziva pulled into her apartment complex and felt ready for a bubble bath, tea, and then an early reservation with her bed.

She lumbered out of her car and into the lobby of her building unaware of the person watching her from the street.

Perfect timing the shadowy creature mumbled to himself.

It was a mere five minutes after getting up to her apartment that Ziva heard a knocking on the door.

"Hmm who could that be? If it were the team they would have called" Ziva thought aloud while grabbing her off duty gun from the safe. Hey a girl can never be too careful.

Without looking through the peephole Ziva opened the door slowly and raised her gun into the face of…..Tim McGee….

Tim's face looked like a deer caught in the headlights and after about a minute Ziva lowered her gun.

"Oh McGee sorry about that one can never be too careful you know?" Ziva nonchalantly replied

"Oh yea that's how I greet my visitors as well…guess I have hung around the team too long" Tim replied with a smirk.

"So what are you doing here? I figured that you would be home playing some mindless computer game, or working on the next novel..is it not due to the publisher soon?" Ziva asked

"Oh well you seemed sick earlier and I thought that I could come make you feel better…and as far as the book goes it is on an indefinite hold" Tim sheepishly replied.

"Ohh is that so?"

'Yea, just lost my spark it seems….but that isn't why I am here…I am here to nurse you back to your original ninja self!"

"Ohh Tim that is not necessary I feel fine" Ziva lied

"No you aren't you are sneezing all the time and you even look as pale as me!" Tim said.

That elicited a chuckle from Ziva that quickly turned into a cough.

"See what I mean Zee, you are sick. Let me take care of you." Tim comfortingly said.

"Oh alright since you seem so determined" Ziva replied.

"Good. Now that it is settled why you don't go take a bath and I'll prepare dinner" Tim suggested.

"A bath does sound good. I'll be out soon" Ziva replied while walking away to prepare for a bath.

…

Almost thirty minutes later Ziva decided it was best to get out before she pruned all up.

So she exited the bathtub and got into her comfortable NCIS sweatpants that Tim leant her after rescuing her from Somalia, and then she scrummaged around and settled for a large t shirt.

Comfortable ruled out.

When she exited her bedroom she was assaulted with a plethora of good smells, and when she went into the kitchen she was assaulted with an even sweeter scene.

She entered to see Tim leaning over the stove stirring a soup pan, and various ingredients littered the counter kitchenette.

Ziva stealthily moved so that she was finally leaning over Tim and smelling the pan that would serve her dinner.

"Oh-h-h-h heyyy Z-Z-Ziva" Tim finally stammered out.

"So Tim what is all this?" Ziva almost purred out.

"Oh this, this, this, is homemade chicken soup that my mom used to make whenever I got sick, and she sent me the recipe a few months ago. I just thought that it might make you feel better, it always worked for me" Tim happily replied.

"Oh I am sure it will" Ziva smiled.

When the soup was ready Tim poured the steaming soup into two bowls and brought them into the living room where Ziva was sitting and flipping through the channels.

"So here it is. Hoe you like it" Tim said while passing the slightly fuller bowl to his sick friend.

Tim watched with bated breath as Ziva slurped down the first spoonful of soup and he was delighted to see her melt into the soup.

"Oh Tim this is marvelous, definitely better than the canned stuff at the local market" Ziva said with contentment.

"Oh well that's because all the ingredients are fresh, and this soup has one special ingredient that no other chicken noodle soup has" Tim replied devilishly.

"Oh really…it has broth, chicken, noodles, and celery….my soup usually has that" Ziva replied bewildered at what the missing ingredient could be.

"Oh well those are the superficial ingredients Zee" Tim replied while sipping on the soup.

"Really what is the base ingredient then…hmmm…no don't answer that I want to figure it out" Ziva replied.

And so for the next half hour Tim watched Ziva eat the soup every which way…slurping it, munching on it, and other ways that he was sure were not ways in which one ate soup, and he was happy watching her.

He could also see and hear the cogs turning in her head trying to see what the special ingredient was and when the two of them were done and Tim was cleaning up he heard a shout emit from Ziva…she must have figured it out!

"I know Tim….it must be the little round peppers that seem different…I have never seen those in this soup before" Ziva replied.

She didn't even need to ask if she was right because seeing the younger man's face visibly deflate she knew that she was wrong, but Tim said something contrary to his body language.

"Yep Ziva you are right" Tim replied a little more chipper than usual which was another sure sign of her wrong answer.

"Really if I was right then your smile would be wider…this thin little smile is reserved for when you don't want to hurt someone's feelings. I have seen it on you many times when around Abby.

"What, what, no Ziva you got it..you are right. Think you are just reading too much into body language there Zee" Tim replied.

"No, no, there is never a such thing as reading too much into body language…body language is the window to the soul McGee" Ziva confidently replied.

"Yea well maybe it is not all that it is cracked up to be, maybe words have more to tell" Tim tersely replied.

Ziva's brow furrowed at that remark as she wondered what she had missed..there was definitely something that she missed.

So while Tim made a hasty exit to use the facilities Ziva scrounged around the kitchenette looking for the recipe to the delectable soup that Tim just made. Surely there is a recipe, who cooks without one?

Finally she spotted a beaten up note card filled with ingredients and she recognized all the usual ones.

Chicken…duh!

Broth..need that one!

Cilantro..always adds flavor so that is a recognized one.

However there was one ingredient that one could never buy at a market, or grow in a backyard. It was one that no one she knew ever baked with.

Love that was the last ingredient that was scribbled on the paper and it was written in big letters so it must have been important.

Love.

Love.

LOVE! was the ingredient that Tim was talking about.

She was shaken out of her reverie when she heard Tim making his way back to the kitchen and heard him say..

"Hey Zee sorry I was a bit terse before I was outta line…and the rest of whatever Tim was going to say died when he saw Ziva in the kitchen..holding the recipe note card…..

The pair stared at one another daring the other to speak first.

It was Ziva who ultimately broke through the tension with, "So it was love…that was the ingredient hmm"

"U-U-U-Uhh yea it was Ziva. I mean it was silly because love technically isn't a quantifiable ingredient and thus cannot be eaten, seen, or tasted, so really it's no big deal. My mom, well she is just a big believer in that sort of thing you see..so just forget it." Tim said as he went further into the kitchen to clean up the dinner remains.

"No Tim it isn't stupid and you are wrong" Ziva softly replied.

"W-W-what I am? About what?" Tim quizzically replied.

"About love….it can be tasted, because I tasted it in that soup, that soup is unlike any other I have ever tasted, and I could never make one like that." Ziva emotionally said.

"What, no, sure you could Ziva" Tim said.

"No I cannot McGee. I never grew up in a loving family; no one ever taught me that. This you know after meeting my father. This you know after hearing about my past, and this you saw in Somalia." Ziva said while turning around.

However she didn't get far before she felt two strong hands take hold of her and turn her around. What she saw when he turned around moved her and took her breath away.

Tim was there, holding her, saying, "See that is where you are wrong. While some are born into love and grow it that way, others find love later on" Tim said while looking Ziva in the eyes with compassion.

"Well where can I find this...love!" Ziva said with furrowed brows.

"You find it in the actions that others do for you, find it in the hearts of those here that care about you" Tim stated.

"So…I….can find it in….you?" Ziva replied a bit hesitantly.

Tim stared at Ziva almost wanting to pinch himself. Did the former Mossad agent just say that?

Before even really thinking Tim replied, "I hope you find it here, and I would hope that you would find it here for years to come Zee" Tim said.

For a few more seconds the pair just stared at one another as if almost in a trance, and just when Tim thought that he had misjudged the preceding conversation and was silently thinking of ways to get out of this sticky, uncomfortable situation Ziva kissed him.

She kissed me he thought.

I am really kissing him she thought…and when I thought he would resist he seems to be melting into the kiss.

That is how the pair remained for a few more seconds before the need for air ruled out and what each saw in the other when they came up was…..love.

….

Monday morning…..

The elevator dinged and opened to reveal Ziva and Tim.

The two co workers happily and silently made their way to their respective desks.

And once Ziva sat down she noticed the disgruntled Tony sitting there.

Being friendly and all she asked, "How was the date Tony?"

"Ohh I had to cancel because of paperwork, apparently there was a glitch when I sent it in, and I had to redo the work" Tony lambently replied.

"Oh I am sorry to hear that" Ziva replied with a hint of a smirk.

"Yea, yea, yea. So you seem better…have a good weekend?" Tony replied absentmindedly.

Looking over at the smiling Tim, Ziva was flooded with the good memories of the weekend, and with memories she hoped to build on, Ziva confidently shook her head and replied "Definitely" in the most seductive tone she could.

_El Fin!_


End file.
